Weak and Weary
by cookieemonsterr4
Summary: A person from one of the Basterd's past stumbles back into his life, perhaps apologies are in order?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't own Inglorious Basterds, I'm sure you're shocked. This is my first story for Inglorious Basterds so I'm sorry if it's not up to your standards. Enjoy.**

_If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance_

_ -George Bernard Shaw_

**Chapter One:**

The French countryside was calm as a dark figure moved cautiously through the heavy foliage. From a distance there was no defining characteristic that classified this figure as anything special, not even a real distinction between male or female, just a bag slung over their right shoulder and a rifle lying diagonally across their back. It would be a safe bet that they had a camp set up nearby; no one was stupid enough to wander this far into the woods with only a small bag and a gun

"You see that?" Smithson Utivich asked his companion, the rather imposing Bear Jew himself, Donny Donowitz.

"The moving thing, yeah" he took aim with his gun but Smithson put his arm up and lowered it

"They could have friends" was all the slighter man said as an explanation. Donny grunted in agreement before leaving the gun and maneuvering his way down so that he could ambush the trespasser.

The stranger moved with deliberate steps, seeming to quickly check for any trap that may have been hiding just inches ahead in their path, so Donny quickly assumed that they were military or former military. Beyond that, the gun was standard issue, nothing distinguishing it from a thousand others, and they had on loose grey pants, a black jacket with tarnished silver buttons, a grey hat with a slight brim that cast enough of a shadow that he couldn't make out a face, and simple black shoes.

Finally the stranger made it to a point where Donny could quickly hit them over the head and knock them out. The dark figure was completely surprised, completely off guard, and quickly on the ground. Once the loud thump of a body hitting the ground reached Utivich's ears he made his way down to where Donny was standing over the now unconscious body. It still wasn't clear which side the stranger was on so they quickly decided to bring them back for Aldo to decide what to do with them.

As they picked up the unconscious form the hat fell from their head to reveal a mass of dark brown curls, clipped up by a handful of small clips. Both of their eyes widened slightly in shock. It was clear now that this was a woman, her delicate features and long hair unmistakable in the dull light that shone through the trees.

"Well, can't say I was expecting that" Donny said as he took the girl's gun and bag before grabbing her hands and motioning to Utivich to grab her ankles. Once he had them they heaved her off the ground, she was actually surprisingly light, and started walking towards camp

"What exactly are we going to tell the Lieutenant?" Utivich asked when they were about two minutes from the camp

"Tell him that we found 'er walking around and thought it best not to shoot her" Donny said with a slight shrug and continued towards the camp

"What the hell is that?" Lt. Aldo Raine asked loudly from the other end of the camp as they came into view

"We found her, while we were keeping watch sir" Utivich said in a very formal tone as he and Donny set the girl haphazardly down on the ground

"I was going ta shoot her but we thought she could have friends around so thought it better to just knock her out" Aldo nodded and made his way over to them. Once he was there he cocked his head to the side as he inspected her.

"Well tie 'er up, don't want her escapin before we question her do we?" they both nodded and went to fetch some rope. While they were getting rope he grabbed her things off the ground, inspecting the gun first. At first glance there was nothing special about it but carved into the butt of the gun was a small letter 'A' that was barely noticeable but still present. In her bag was a box of bullets, an apple, a silver bracelet, and a mason jar filled with used bullets. Overall, it seemed like random junk the average person wouldn't go walking through the woods with, well except the apple.

"Sir, is there a reason there's a girl right there?" Hirschberg asked as he came to stand next to the lieutenant.

"Not sure yet, they're might be" he shrugged as Donny and Utivich returned with rope and made work of tying her hands behind her back and her feet together.

"What do we do now?" Utivich asked

"We wait" Aldo said and took a few steps back before plopping himself down on one of the logs that had been serving as a seat for quite some time now. A few moments later Donny, Utivich, and Hirschberg joined him and within five minutes the rest of the Basterds had joined them.

All but Wicki and Stiglitz, who were gathering information at a pub in a town a few miles from the camp. They were expected back within the hour, perhaps even before the girl woke up

It took another fifteen minutes before she showed any real sign of life. She didn't make any noise and if they hadn't been watching her so intently they wouldn't have noticed that she had, in fact, woken up. Her eyes fluttered open and quickly scanned over her surroundings, lingering for only milliseconds on each of their faces before dropping to the ground before her and giving a tug at the rope binding her hands together. She muttered something, low enough that none of them caught it.

"Morning girly" Aldo said and got up from his seat

"You are mistaken" she paused, a smirk gracing her features "is not morning" from her words they could tell that she was German, no doubt about it.

"Looks like we got us a little German on our hands, boys" Aldo said looking back at his men. "Now listen here, we don't like Germans, nope, not one bit, so you had better give me one hell of a reason not to kill you" she took her time in processing his words and opened her lips to speak but closed them before uttering a single word and looked up at Aldo

"You think I am like them, ja?" her words were calculated and they could hear the hatred and contempt she forced into the word 'them'

"Why shouldn't I?" she laughed and shook her head, closing her eyes in frustration

"I may have been born in Germany, raised in Germany, taught German, schooled in Germany, but I am no German. No more can I be German" she looked down, took a deep breath and returned her gaze to Aldo, who was giving her a questioning look

"You can't be German, without being German" Donny said as he came to stand next to his lieutenant

"But I am" suddenly the sound of gravel under tires reached all of their ears to alert them that Wicki and Stiglitz were back. The closer they got the louder the distraction became and questions for the German girl were forgotten, her last statement almost completely disregarded.

They left the girl near the dead fire pit she had been near for the duration of her stay, leaving only Omar to make sure she didn't get away. He had been ordered to shoot her if she tried to escape.

"Any news?" Aldo asked when he caught sight of the two as they got out of the car

"Nothing interesting, what's going on over there?" Wicki asked as he noticed Omar standing guard over the bound up girl

"Donowitz and Utivich found her wondering in the woods, she only came to a few minutes ago actually" Hirschberg said from his position behind Donny

"She know anything?" Wicki asked and glanced back over at the girl. Stiglitz seemed to be rather disinterested, or very interested, it was hard to tell with him.

"Not sure yet, all we know is that she's German"

"What's a German girl doing in the French countryside?" Wicki asked, more to himself than to his fellow Basterds

"How 'bout we go find out" Aldo said and led the procession back over to where the girl was tied up. Once she was in plain view for the two new comers one of them gasped slightly in shock while the other looked her over for anything important.

"Impossible" Hugo Stiglitz whispered, almost inaudibly, as he took in the girl. She was taller, probably 5'8 and very slim, even in the oversized clothing, with wild dark curls pinned to her head, deep green eyes, full lips, and rosy cheeks. She had to be 22 now, eight years older than the last time he saw her, well, last time they spoke.

"Sie verräter! Ich hasse euch!"(You traitor! I hate you!) her words cut through the silence and made him want to slap himself for forgetting what it felt like to be on the receiving end of one of her fits "Ich hatte gehofft sie gestorben" (I had hoped you died) these words were softer but seemed to hold the same hatred and resentment as her previous statement.

"So I take it you two know each other" Aldo said, trying to comprehend what the girl had said. All he had understood was that this girl really disliked his man, though he didn't get that from the actual words said. Her tone was unmistakable, hate was hate, no matter the language.

"No," she said harshly and glared at Stiglitz "not anymore" she finished, a murderous look still in her eyes


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This chapter is basically all background but it's important for the story and gets most of the explaining out of the way. **

_But the thing about remembering is that you don't forget._

_ -Tim O'Brien_

**Chapter Two:**

Sergeant Hugo Stiglitz couldn't take his eyes off the young German girl in front of him, not because she was particularly beautiful or anything special really, but rather just because she was there. For the past nearly two years he had thought she was dead, or as good as dead considering the circumstances under which he had last caught a glimpse of the girl he once knew so well.

They were never involved in that sort of way, just very good friends, despite the seven and a half year age difference. Their friendship wasn't normal, it was forged because he was her brother's best friend and, though not originally, in love with her sister, both of whom were older than her. He has always known the green eyed sister of his best friend to be one of the most interesting kids he had ever met. She was strong, much stronger than her brother who was known for his near constant ill state, independent, she didn't follow the crowd, she made them follow her, and most of all, stubborn as hell.

For as long as he could remember the Cohen's had lived two houses down, in the quaint green house with the white door and flowers surrounding the front porch. Most of his childhood was spent at their house; he really was a fixture there. Originally Mr. and Mrs. Cohen had only Ari and Rebecca. Ari was Hugo's best friend, though one could easily argue that they were complete opposites. Ari was sickly and passive, always acting as a mediator between Hugo and whoever it was he was in conflict with at the time, while Hugo was strong and short tempered, always quick to defend his friends and family. Rebecca was a sweet girl; she looked nothing like her mother or father, with her dirty blonde hair, though she had her father's chocolate brown eyes and her mother's nose. She was always the kind girl who would turn every head in the room when she walked in. But things, and families, are always changing, or rather growing.

He remembered when they first brought the new little baby girl home and he and Ari thought she looked funny and cried a lot. Mrs. Cohen always treated him like her own son and after Ari and Rebecca each had their turn at holding the little pink bundle she asked him if he wanted to hold her. He said sure and then she was in his arms. He noticed that she was sort of pink and her head was kind of pointy, she squirmed a lot in her sleep, she sucked her thumb, and she didn't really look like a person, more like one of Rebecca's dolls.

Two years later the little baby that was complacent just sitting in your arms wasn't happy unless the floor was beneath her feet and someone was chasing after her. He was convinced she learned to run before she learned to walk. Her head wasn't pointy anymore, he thought she looked more like a person now that she had a normal head and some teeth, but her cheeks were still always tinged with pink. As strange as it was for him to admit it, he liked the little girl that was always running around, making a mess of everything she could reach, and charming everyone with that goofy grin of hers.

By the time he was eleven she could talk and had already gotten into her first fight. He could remember the pride in Mr. Cohen's face when she told him about how she punched Frederick, the little boy who lived on the other side of the street a few houses down, because he had called her necklace stupid. Of course, Mrs. Cohen wasn't as thrilled by her youngest daughter's aggressive behavior but Hugo couldn't help but feel pride as the four year old relayed the story to him as Ari and they played checkers in the living room the next day. They had both laughed at the little girl and given her a small high five when they were sure Mrs. Cohen wasn't watching; she wouldn't approve of their encouraging her reckless behavior. Since she could talk now and had all of her teeth, he thought she was more like a person, though still strange, what with those dresses and silly hair ribbons she wore, and her cheeks were still tinged pink.

The next year, he remembered, was the year that he and Ari helped her pull out her first tooth. It had been wiggly for about a month now and nothing she did would make it come loose; apples, door knobs and string, tugging, pulling, none of it worked. So they came up with a plan to get that stupid tooth out. Mrs. Cohen was going grocery shopping and Mr. Cohen was at work that afternoon so it was the perfect time to get the tooth out. They got a pair of pliers from the shed out back and sat her down on the kitchen counter. Ari was going to hold her still while Hugo pulled out the tooth. Rebecca had told them that they were going to get into trouble, they were sure no one would ever know that they had pulled out the tooth instead of just letting it fall out. Well they got the tooth out, just not the right tooth. "That one wasn't wiggly!" he could remember her words, obstructed by the blood pooling in her mouth. Whoops. As soon as they got her mouth to stop bleeding she gave him an earful. Even at five years old she was a force to be reckoned with, all power and intimidation. Once she had calmed down they sat her back down on the counter and pulled out the right tooth. She covered for them both when Mrs. Cohen came home, informing her that they both came out in her apple. She was quite the liar for being so young. He knew that she would be a strong girl when she got older, nothing would bring her down or stop her. Sometimes he thought she was still not quite a person, it had to be those dresses Mrs. Cohen kept buying her and her long lair, or maybe it was that her cheeks still had a pinkish tint to them. Rebecca said that she was lucky; she would never have to worry about putting on blush. Hugo didn't understand why women painted their faces, it seemed weird to him.

When she was six Mr. Cohen took her, Ari, and Hugo to go hunting. They were so excited that they would be allowed to use real guns, being that at thirteen such activities as hunting and fighting and other sometimes violent things were appealing to them. When they reached the lodge Ari was in one of his fits and was having trouble breathing; he insisted that they should go hunting and he would stay at the lodge. Mr. Cohen assured him that they would stay behind if Ari was uncomfortable being alone but he insisted that they go, after all, they didn't come all this way just to sit at the lodge. So they got their guns and headed out into the woods, Hugo didn't kill anything and the little girl, whose gun was almost as big as her, was only allowed to shoot the target. She was a perfect shot, every bullet hit the target, most of them grouped together around the bull's-eye. Mrs. Cohen was horrified when she heard that Mr. Cohen was going to take her little princess hunting again; said princess was ecstatic. She still wore those funny dresses but she didn't wear those weird ribbons in her hair anymore, her hair was curlier than it had been. She seemed more like a person now, but her cheeks were still pink and that was weird.

At sixteen he was a ladies man, though he never paid special attention to Rebecca Cohen. Sure she was two years younger than him but even the other boys notices that she wasn't just another girl, she was far prettier. Rebecca was popular, her room always had at least two friends in it, gossiping with her and fussing over her hair. He could remember countless occasions she would scream and throw a fit because she found her little sister hiding under her bed, she would eventually give up and let her stay in the room because she really had the best puppy dog face he had ever seen; she could make an iceberg melt. Ari used to always complain that the house was always filled with girls so they started hanging out at Hugo's house or down at the theatre, where they would always manage to find dates for whatever film was playing. He didn't see much of the youngest Cohen that year, though he heard of most of her exploits through Ari. She really was quite the trouble maker.

Just one year later and he couldn't get Rebecca off his mind. He had seen her with Wilhelm Muller at the movies and suddenly he couldn't stand the idea of her with any guy. Now he couldn't talk to Ari about this because, well, it was his sister and that was against all best friend rules, so he talked to the only person he could think of. In retrospect, maybe a ten year old might not have been the best choice but she was the only one who could talk to both Ari and Rebecca without looking suspicious. She managed to convince Ari that Rebecca should go out with Hugo, not that 'awful excuse of a boy she's seeing now' and Rebecca that while Wilhelm was nice he wasn't very attractive. He added cupid to the list of things she was good at, though he knew she hadn't worked alone, she had actually made a friend. Some girl named Mina Weis, he didn't know much about her or really care, he just knew that they were in the same class and shared a dislike of Frederick, the boy she had punched when she was four. He pinched her cheeks and thanked her when Rebecca agreed to go on a date with him; he noticed that they were still pink.

Three years later and he and Rebecca were still together. They were planning to move in together once Rebecca graduated, Ari was okay with it, though not entirely excited that his little sister was going to be sharing an apartment with his best friend, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen were as happy as parents of an in love seventeen year old intent on moving in with her boyfriend could be, but the youngest of the Cohen's was not happy. She thought they were all abandoning her, and she didn't like people leaving. The bliss that surrounded the happy couple was soon shattered when, a few days before the once little Cohen was to turn fourteen, Mr. and Mrs. Cohen were killed in a car accident. The driver of the other car survived the crash, though he never left the hospital because four days later he passed away. Their aunt offered them a place to stay with her in France, they really had no other option. And so it was all set, Ari would go with his youngest sister to France and stay with her to make sure she adjusted alright. Rebecca had planned to stay in Germany with Hugo but they both knew when they saw the almost fourteen year old sprawled out over her mother's grave, her body shaking with silent tears, that she would be on the train to France with them. He remembered that he had to carry her home after she cried herself to sleep on her mother's grave; he remembered how pink her cheeks were when the cold combined with her naturally pink cheeks. Rebecca thanked him profusely and let him stay the night. They said goodbye privately that night and the next morning he helped her pack, she promised that they would be together again one day. He kissed her goodbye at the train station and watched as she boarded the train. That would be the last time he would see Rebecca Cohen.

Over the next few years he got himself a decent job and attended university. He had tried to stay in contact with Rebecca but they had both stopped writing years ago. Since she left he had had a few more relationships, though none of them went as far as his with Rebecca did. One day he joined the German Army, he wasn't sure why exactly he did, it was probably the feeling of being a part of something bigger. At first it was just running and push-ups and conditioning and shooting but then things changed. Germany changed. Every day he came home with the blood of those he watched head to the concentration camps dripping from his hands. He knew it was wrong to send them there, to just stand by and let them do it, but he just couldn't force himself to stop.

It had been just over a year that he had been working as a respected member of the German army. He enjoyed the prestige and respect everyone gave him when they saw his uniform. That day was just an ordinary day, a cool wind was blowing the last of the snow off the trees in preparation for Spring, the whether was still cool but not unmanageable. He was working at one of the stops today, it was his job to supervise everyone as they removed the bodies from the cattle cars. As he stood on the platform a flower petal blew across his boot and stayed there, he bent down to remove it. When he stood up again the doors to the carts were open and the one right in front of him captured his attention immediately. She was standing right there. She was taller than she had been five years ago, more filled out, she looked like a woman, not the little girl he had watched grow up. Her green eyes had been blank until they landed on him, the moment they did they became enraged, though he could see the disappointment there too. Unlike most of the occupants of the car her eyes were not bloodshot from crying, her long sleeved blue dress was not wrinkled from sitting, her hands were not bloody from fighting for scraps of bread. She hadn't cried, hadn't sat down, hadn't eaten. He quickly realized that Ari and Rebecca weren't in that car with her, Ari's body was being tossed out of the car haphazardly along with all of the others. How could she not be balling? The little girl he knew would have been crying, because despite her tough exterior she was soft when it came to those closest to her. Of course that was why she wasn't crying, he didn't know the woman before him, he knew the girl she once was. Rebecca was no where to be seen and he could only assume that she had already been removed. He glanced back at her before they closed the doors and saw that she was now looking right through him, as if he wasn't even there. She looked like a changed person, all of her energy gone, but the most shocking change had to be that her cheeks were pale, not a trace of the pink that had lingered there since her birth.

That day they closed the doors and the girl who was practically his little sister was carted off to a concentration camp. When the train was gone and everyone else had left he went over to where Ari's body had been thrown and bent down. Right in front of him was the boy he had grown up with, his best friend, his brother in every sense of the word except blood. They had done everything together, Hugo had always been there to protect him from the guys that were bigger than him. Not this time, he chided himself and closed his eyes. A single tear escaped and fell onto Ari's lifeless body. He couldn't do this anymore, not when this cause, the cause he was a part of, had killed his best friend, the woman he loved, and, more than likely, the little girl he had watched grow up.

He would stop; he would do it for her.

For the little girl with green eyes and pink cheeks; for the little girl that believed in him.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry this took so long, life has been a little bit hectic, but enough excuses. Here's chapter three, hope you enjoy. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added this to their favorites and alerts.**

**Chapter Three:**

She wasn't moving, just sitting there with the coldest glare he had ever seen. He wished she would say something, that someone would say something.

Now, considering he thought he would never see her again it should have been a much happier experience in seeing her, in seeing that she was safe, alive; but considering the circumstances he couldn't let himself feel happy, not when he blamed himself so much for her incarceration in the first place.

"Untie her" he finally said after a few more moments under her cool stare. Though his eyes were fixed only on her he could feel the questioning looks his fellow Basterds were giving him. In the back of his mind he knew some of them were only staring because he had actually spoken, a rather rare occurrence, but some of them must have felt that there was something off with the girl, the girl that they now knew was an acquaintance of Hugo's.

"Do it, Omar" Aldo commanded, giving Hugo a slight nod as if to show that he trusted him.

"You sure that's the best idea, Lieutenant?" Donny asked from Aldo's side

"Ain't sure, guess we'll find out though" that was enough of an answer to satisfy Donny for now and Omar made quick work of untying her. Once she was free of her bindings she stood and rolled her shoulders before taking a small step closer to the Basterds.

"No so fast little lady" Aldo said, she scoffed at him

"I am not so little anymore" her response was filled with disdain

"Well 'ya look little to me. Now, why don't you tell us yer name" Aldo waited for a response but every time she opened her mouth to say something she snapped it back shut, as if unsure of herself

"They stole my name and gave me a number" her words were soft, the pain she felt clearly incased in each word. Looking down she let the large coat fall from her shoulders and reveal a white tee shirt that fit loosely, showing just how thin she was. She lifted her left arm and allowed for a string of numbers to be seen on her arm.

It seemed as if every Basterd then gasped at what they were seeing. There was only one explanation for that, she had been in Auschwitz. There were two things the Basterds hated more than others, Hitler was one, concentration camps the other.

"But before zen, my name was Tzipora. Tzipora Cohen" she gave them a few moments to digest everything before blinking away the tears that had been welling up in her eyes, putting back on her tough exterior, and taking a few steps closer to where Hugo stood. He knew that look in her eye, it was the same one she had many years ago when she learned her sister was going to be moving in with him. No doubt there was a Tzipora quality fit coming his way, but this would be different, he deserved anything she did to him.

"You will ask how we knew each other, ja?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at a man she once considered her brother. It killed him to feel her contempt, to see just how much his actions had hurt her. She didn't know that it was because of her that Hugo had killed all those men, maybe she didn't even know of his exploits.

"I think we'd all like to know that, little lady" Aldo responded.

"And I will tell you, but only after I take care of something" she took a few steps closer to Hugo, poking him harshly in the chest "I hate you. You betrayed my family, a family I once considered you part of. I don't think I will ever forgive you. I have waited two years since day I saw you from the train to do this" she pulled back her fist and hit him straight in the jaw. He could have caught her fist and stopped her. Could have, but didn't.

The impact of her fist was stronger than he had expected, she had been small and relatively weak the last time she had punched him. Granted that time was when she was thirteen and angry at him for killing some of her roses. She was trained to fight, that much he could tell from her form and the strength she now had behind her left hook, but he couldn't figure why.

Quickly Donny moved to hold her back and keep her from going after Hugo again. While Tzipora was being restrained Hugo made no move to retaliate, something that shocked his fellow Basterds as he was known for having a temper.

"Donowitz, take the lady over there and get 'er side of the story. Stiglitz, you're gunna start talking right about now" Aldo said and gave a waiting look to his sergeant. Tzipora put up a bit of a fight but eventually let Donny lead her away. Once Donny had the girl over by the now lifeless fire, Hugo took a deep breath and began speaking.

"As children we lived in ze same neighborhood. She had an older sister, Rebecca, and brother, Ari, and he was the best friend I ever had. I watched her grow up, we were practically family. I was-well her sister and I were," Hugo paused to think of how to phrase this so as to not seem like a sap in front of his Lieutenant "involved. About eight years ago Tzipora's parents passed away in an accident. They didn't have much family and the only person who took them in was their aunt in France. The Cohen family got that train that day and I thought I would never see zem again.

"Two years ago, ze army had me working at one of the stops for the concentration camp trains. Tzipora was on that train, but Rebecca was nowhere to be seen and Ari's body was being thrown off." He paused and looked down in an ashamed manner as he recalled that day "I did what I did to the Gestapo because of her, Lieutenant." He hadn't lied, not once, but he only told the bare minimum because that was who he was. He wasn't open with these men, or with anyone really, and he wasn't about to have a come to Jesus moment and start spilling his guts now.

"Ya still trust 'er?" Aldo asked, standing with his arms on his sides, looped through his belt loops. Hugo was the silent type but he was always observant. This was a pose that Aldo took when he was thinking about something, considering his options

"With my life, sir" his response seemed to satisfy their fearless leader as he nodded silently and watched as the girl lifted her shirt to expose her back. Even from this distance they could both see the distinctive scars of multiple whippings. Hugo paled at the sight of her injuries, knowing that it was in some ways his fault.

Meanwhile as Aldo questioned Hugo, Donny was tasked with the job of questioning the girl with a connection to the German member of the Basterds. He couldn't deny that she was intriguing, anyone who could punch Hugo Stiglitz and not be killed had to have a damn good story.

"You're not going to fight anymore, are you?" he asked her after he sat down on one of the logs that they used as benches. She had remained standing

"Only if you bring it upon yourself" she responded with a fake smile. She looked at the logs questioningly before finally sitting down on one a few feet away from Donny.

"So how do you and Stiglitz know each other?" he asked, deciding to be blunt rather than beat around the bush. She laughed bitterly, keeping her gaze on the fire as she answered.

"We grew up together. He was my brother's best friend, the 'love' of my sister's life, practically my brother" she looked around the camp, most likely seeing if there was a way she could slip away unnoticed while they were all distracted

"You sure don't treat him like your brother" Donny thought that this girl was crazy, that her kite was flying a little bit too high. No girl he had ever known had carried a gun, let alone a bigger gun than his, and he had never known anyone to carry a jar of spent rounds with them. She had to be off her rocker, being that she grew up with Stiglitz and all.

"He has betrayed me, in more ways than I can tell you of" she had a look in her eye that he recognized, she was remembering something.

"How'd he do that? He sleep with your sister?" he said it jokingly and it actually made her smile but there was something behind her smile, something she was hiding from everyone. She laughed and rubbed at the slight rope burn she had gotten from trying to free her hands from their bindings.

"I believe this saying 'sleeping with' means having sex, ja?" he nodded "Then yes, he did, but zat is not how he betrayed me" they were both silent for a few moments before she took the initiative and started talking. "It was about two years ago when the Gestapo showed up at my aunt's house and forced us to go with them. Ari, my brother, he was very sick at the time and I knew he wasn't going to be with me for much longer. On those trains you can hardly reach out your arms without finding another person, but while everyone else sat and cried I made sure Ari had a place to sit, I stayed strong for him, but he was very ill. It was so hard to look at him, to see that his heart was no longer beating, to know that my brother was dead. For five hours I watched by brother's body move with the train and I wanted badly to cry but I stayed strong. When the train stopped zey opened the doors and took avay the bodies. I could see out ze door, I could see all ze people but only he held my attention. He looked much ze same, but he vas one of zem. I hated him more zan anyone else then, more than Hitler even, because he had been my friend" her accent became much thicker as she continued to talk but he could still understand everything she said "So I have good reason to hate him"

"A'right, let's say I believe you. So what're you doing out in the middle of the woods all by yourself?" she stayed quite, a pensive look on her face, before saying anything.

"Have you ever been beaten, Sergeant?" Donny looked at her questioningly "How about whipped?" she was making no sense; this had nothing to do with why she was here, or at least he thought.

"You aren't answering my question" he said, his aggravation leaking into his tone. With a sigh she stood and turned around so that her back was facing him. Slowly she lifted her shirt to reveal an expansive network of scars spreading over her back.

"Every day I had to endure whatever zey did to me, if I wanted to live. But one day we got out, escaped before they had the chance to catch us, and we ran until we could no more. Zen one day we decided to take our revenge against the Nazis. It has been long time since I had any claim to innocence, there is no forgiving what I have done. I am out here for ze same reason as you; to kill anyone wearing Nazi uniform." She had let her shirt fall back down and had taken her seat perched upon the log near the long dead fire.

He would never be able to say that he truly understood the hatred she felt for the Nazis, for he himself had never actually lost a family member to them or been held prisoner by them, but he had a feeling that she wasn't going to cause them any problems. Well she might cause Stiglitz some problems but he sort of deserved it.

"So the jar of bullets" he probed, hoping she would give an explanation for such an odd object to carry around

"That way I will never forget"

"Hey, girly, come 'ere" Aldo's voice boomed and the girl stood up and began walking towards him. There was a certain lilt in her step that gave her an air of mystery, as though you would never be able to truly catch her off guard. He found it odd that he was thinking this, considering he had been able to knock her out before.

"You want to live?" he asked her

"I care not for my life. I will not be happy in this life time unless my people are freed and their keepers punished. You can kill me, if that pleases you, but all you will do is hurt your own cause" Aldo nodded in thought at this, seeming to reconsider what he was going to say next

"Well I ain't goin'a kill ya, today anyway"

"Vat is the catch?" She was a smart girl, knowing that there would be conditions to her being allowed to live was just common sense.

"Nothin too bad girly, just some information, a bit of clarification" Aldo took out his snuff box and took a small amount.

"Of course, Lieutenant, but I must tell you, my friends will be worried. Zey will come for me" the Basterds all looked at each other in confusion and shock.

"So you ain't alone out here?" Aldo asked, a bit angered by not anticipating this. He had figured that since she hadn't mentioned anyone else yet she was alone, nothing had suggested otherwise. Granted, the original reason she wasn't shot was fear that she could have affiliates nearby. She seemed taken aback by his question, as though it should have been obvious that she would have people worrying about her.

"Only idiot walk through French country side alone"


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So, I'm sorry that this took so long but life got a little crazy on me. School and tests are all done for now so I'm hoping to be able to update sooner… no promises though. Well, I hope this isn't terrible!**

The entire camp was tense, or rather everyone except Tzipora. She was just pissed. Years, she had gone years now without seeing Hugo Stiglitz's mug and she couldn't have been happier. The last time she had seen his face was when she was on that damn train on the way to that damn concentration camp. That one wasn't to Auschwitz, no, she had to go to Auschwitz because one man had a special hatred for her. He was a nobody, to her at least, but that one day when she punched him put her at the top of his list. Fucking Frederick and his stupid hatred for her, never mind that she reciprocated the feeling.

Tzipora's hatred for Frederick 'I hold grudges from when I'm four' Lehmann paled in comparison to her hatred for the one and only Hugo Stiglitz. Hugo was basically her brother, given a few more months she didn't doubt that he would have married Rebecca. She didn't hate him until she saw him that day; standing in his freshly pressed _German _uniform. He was one of them, a member of the group systematically removing her people, exterminating them, so it was only natural that she no longer thought of him in a kind light.

It was hard for her to not shoot him, or stab him, or strangle him for everything he had done to hurt her. But even harder was that seeing him reminded her that she was the only Cohen left in Germany. She didn't plan on surviving this war; she would fight tooth and nail to kill the Fuhrer. It wasn't a happy thought, her impending death, but she wasn't daft enough to believe she would make it out of this scot free.

"You sure these friends of yours are comin'?" it was the Apache one that asked, the leader of this band of Basterds. She wasn't his largest fan, but she didn't have a proper reason to hate him yet.

"Ja, zey don't like me being," she couldn't think of the word right away, a downfall of English being her third, and not best, language "gone?" it come out more like a question

"Ya don't sound so sure of yourself" it was Donny who spoke, she remembered his name because he was to one who questioned her earlier. She didn't much care for him either, granted she didn't much care for anyone in this little camp.

"English isn't my first language so sometimes my words get confused" a few of them laughed at that, she didn't understand why so she glared a little at those around her. Why couldn't these people just speak German? Or French? Either of those was much more fluent to her.

"Well we are goin'ta speak English, clear?" leader man said. She wasn't sure if she liked him or not, though she was leaning toward not at this point. She was pretty sure his name was Aldo, if she wasn't mistaken she had read about him in a confidential note one of the men she killed had on him. 'Aldo the Apache' was what they called him. Of course, she could be completely wrong though and this could be some other band of Nazi killing Americans.

"Like a window" they laughed at her again, which really pissed her off. What was do damn funny? She wasn't a fan of being laughed at by strangers.

"What is funny?" she asked, anger leaking into her tone unintentionally though not regrettably. "What have I done to make you laugh?"

"Yer English ain't good" Aldo said, a light laugh and smirk tacked on to the end. The longer she was around these men the more she disliked them. Of course her original opinion wasn't very high of them considering their chumminess with Hugo fucking Stiglitz.

"The English speaking people I travel with do not laugh at me, what make you?" they must have been so shocked by the revelation that she was traveling with people who spoke English seemed to cause her question to be completely overlooked.

"How many?" Donny asked from beside Aldo. He was definitely not her favorite, probably due to his bearish demeanor and imposing presence. The other Basterds also seemed to be enthralled by her, whether this was due to her being a foreigner, an intruder, or a past acquaintance of Stiglitz was rather unclear though.

"Counting myself, zere are four of us. One British, one American, one Polish, and one German. The Englishman and American speak English, as a first language" she hoped that would suffice them, she hated having to go into the story of how she came to know each member of her group; it was quite the lengthy tale and most likely them laughing at her because of her limited English vocabulary. She may live every day with others who spoke the language but they always understood when she would switch into French so she never needed to perfect her English. Currently she had to focus most of her thought to understanding them, translating what they were saying, and translating her responses.

"Where did you find an American?" clearly Aldo was not happy that some other American was over here killing Nazi's, stepping into his territory even more so.

"France; an American man left family his to," what was the damn word she wanted? It was right there, on the top of her tongue, but yet just out of reach. She knew she should have paid more attention when they were speaking English around her! "uh-travel? Yes, travel, and he end up in France where there was an accident and our doctor saved him. He refused to go to back to your country, said something about morality? Does that sound right?" one of the Basterds, one that hadn't spoken to her, nodded slightly "So he stayed with us"

"You have doctor with ya'?" were americans really this daft? Yes, she just said that their _doctor_ had saved the damn American, they should have been able to reason that on their own.

"Ja, I said zat" she rolled her eyes at the end of her statement, showing her opinion of the Americans clearly in her expression.

Her response clearly angered Aldo more than he already was, resulting in his ordering her to be taken over to one of the tents with Wiki, the other German speaker in their group. He was tolerable, she supposed, far more preferable than Stiglitz or Donny or any of the others that only spoke English.

"_You're from Frankfurt"_ he said once they were out of ear shot, it was a relief to hear her native tongue rather than the foreign words of English these men spoke, often with a hard accent that distorted the words. She recognized his accent immediately

"_And you are from Munich"_ she responded with a slight smirk, proving that she wasn't some ignorant young child.

"_We haven't been formally introduced, Cpl. Wilhelm Wicki"_ she responded with a simple 'Tzipora Cohen' favoring simple and concise to wordy and complicated. _"Bird, fitting considering how I assume you kill your victims"_ Wicki had a slight smile that pulled at the right corner of his mouth.

"_You know what my name translates to? Impressive, though I must admit I'm more concerned with how you know how I fulfill my responsibility. I never mentioned climbing trees or shooting from a far distance, how did you know I was a sniper?"_ she leaned forward, at the same time tucking a fly away strand of hair behind her ear.

"_The way you carry yourself, all fluid and precise, all the makings of a disciplined shooter."_ Well, this Wicki man was definitely her favorite among the Basterds, not a doubt about it.

"_Well-reasoned, and a compliment at that, I'm flattered"_ she gave a slight smile before tilting her head, most likely making him think she was crazy. There was a slight disturbance, one that would go unnoticed by almost anyone else. To anyone that heard it though, it was a very distinct sound associated with a very identifiable action.

Her smile grew when she heard the noise again, only louder—closer.

"_Inform your leader, Cpl., that my friends are here. I swear on my mother's grave, we mean you no harm" _he didn't question her statement, simply walked over to Aldo, who met him half way, and informed him of the situation.

They were distracted, just as she wanted, now was her chance. Of course, this would have been easier if she at least knew where her bag and gun were. Quickly she scanned the camp, if they were visible she would get them before leaving, if not, well she could always find a new gun and a new bag. The bag was nowhere to be seen, nor was her gun, so she deemed that a lost cause.

'_Five seconds'_ she thought, _'it will take five seconds to make it to the tree line. Give or take seven for them to realize I'm gone. Eleven to get far enough that they can't grab me. Thirteen to get high enough they can't find me. That gives me roughly forty seconds to do this' _her reasoning was rushed, all calculations based on assumed facts of her chasers. This escape plan was a shot in the dark but her only chance.

Without a second glance she stood and made a run for the trees. Nothing but the air on her face and ground under her feet was touching her, until there was something else. Hands. It was Hands, big warm, masculine hands snaking their way around her mid-section to stop her mid stride.

Dammit, she was so close.


End file.
